Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al

I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.

Billy was the last to leave the apartment at the end of the evening. Marcy walked him down to his car so they could have a few quiet moments together. Even after his friends left it was hard to have any privacy with her roommates around.

"Thanks again for bringing your friends over," Marcy said. "You have no idea how thrilled Sarah was about that. Especially Rocky. I knew he was a big eater, but I didn't know he had such an appreciation for food."

"Me neither," Billy said. They'd reached his car but he was reluctant to drive away just yet. He leaned against the door and looked up at her. There was a streetlight overhead and the glow made Marcy's hair light up, showing off the natural highlights in her smooth tresses.

"I wanted to ask you something," Billy said. "You mentioned Sarah's boyfriend."

Marcy tilted her head back and took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry about that," she said coldly. "That wasn't appropriate of me. It's just…"

"You don't like him," Billy said.

She looked over at him, and even in this dim light he could see the fire in her eyes. "He's not a nice person. I can't say it's one thing in particular, but something about him just grates on me. He doesn't just not like her cooking, he puts it down. He has this way of mincing his words so on the surface it seems like a compliment, but if you know the whole story you know it's not."

"Does he…hurt her?" Billy asked.

Marcy looked down at the pavement and rocked back on her heels. "I don't think he hits her," she said, "But I know he's not nice to her. I just can't prove it."

She crossed the space between the cars and came to lean against the car next to Billy. "Did you notice the way she acted when Rocky was talking to her? Whenever any guy compliments her she immediately brings up Jasper. She feels the need to sabotage any relationship with another guy. She's afraid of his jealously."

"Maybe she just didn't like Rocky," Billy said.

"Who doesn't like Rocky?" Marcy said. "Besides, I hate to say this, but he's perfect for her. He's kind and gentle, and he appreciates good food. He's not the smartest person, but he's not stupid at all. He's big and lovable and funny and,"

"Should I be getting jealous?" Billy said suddenly.

Marcy laughed. "No. I don't like big cuddly guys. I like evil geniuses." She leaned in and gave him a kiss for reassurance.

"How do you do that?" Billy asked when they broke apart. "How do you read people so well?"

Marcy shrugged. "It's a gift. I am majoring in psychology. I've always just known how to connect with people."

"So what do we do about Sarah and Rocky?" he asked.

Marcy leaned back against the car and sighed. "Not much we can do. Not right now. I just hope Jasper screws up enough to prove me right one day."

Billy but his arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I wish you didn't have to go home."

"I can stay a little while longer," he said.

He felt her head shaking no. She shifted under his arm and he felt her lips against his neck. He turned a little so he could kiss her again. Her arms slid around his neck and her fingers were in his hair. He knew she would make him stop eventually, and send him home, but right now she was here, and he didn't want to stop.

"Check."

Marcy watch Billy lean over on his elbows, considering the bishop she'd just moved within striking distance of his king. He didn't have a lot of options. He could block with the pawn, but that would open up the right side of the board to attack from her rook, or he could move the king, which would destroy his chances of castling to evade the rook later. Either way, she'd have him in at least two moves.

He sighed and moved the pawn. Marcy let out a little scoff and took it with her queen. "You're letting me win."

"This is our fourth game today, I've beaten you once. You really think I want you to win that badly." He took his chances and castled, evading her for at least one more move.

They were sitting at a table in the Youth Center. It was after school on a Wednesday, and it was raining outside. Tommy and Rocky were demonstrating a new move for their advanced martial arts class out on the floor.

"Only because you love me." She moved the rook and took his last bishop. "Checkmate."

"I'm not playing with you anymore," Billy said in annoyance. "You cheat."

"I do not cheat. How would I cheat at chess?"

Billy shrugged. "I don't know, you read my mind."

"I can't read your mind," Marcy said. I read your soul, she added to herself.

"You always know what I'm going to do," Billy said in a genuine whine.

"I'm just good at reading people," she said. "And you're an easy person to read."

"Oh really?" he said leaning back in his chair his hands resting on the table. He his eyes contorted into a scowl. "What am I thinking now?"

Marcy leaned in, narrowing her eyes as if peering into his. She also reached out and ever so slightly touched the top of his hands with her fingertips. She didn't see a full on image, but the emotional outpouring made his intentions perfectly clear. It took all of her strength not to blush. For all his genius, Billy had a very dirty mind.

"You're thinking you want to buy me another strawberry smoothie," she said.

His scowl softened into a smile and he stood up and went to the bar without another word. Marcy picked up the chess pieces and began putting them away. Across the room she saw Rocky and Tommy dismissing their class. Once the kids were off the mats they walked up to the table.

"Hey Marcy," Rocky said taking Billy's empty seat. Tommy pulled up two more chairs as Billy returned with the smoothies.

"I wanted to ask you," Rocky continued. "How did Sarah's final go? What did she end up choosing for her menu?"

"Uh, she went with the tenderloin roast and the garden vegetables," Marcy answered, "and the Cranberry salad."

"What did she do for desert?" Rocky asked.

Marcy tried to think. She was in so much shock that Rocky had asked, she completely forgot. "I don't remember. I would have to call her and ask."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rocky said. "I was just curious."

Marcy smiled. She'd been right about Rocky after all. "You know what?" she said pulling out one of her business cards from the bookstore. She flipped the card over and wrote the apartment phone number down. "This is her phone number. Why don't you call her yourself? She's there now."

Rocky took the card and his face lit up. "Okay, I'll be right back."

He got up and walked out to the hallway where the payphones were.

"What are you doing?" Billy said suddenly.

Marcy looked over her shoulder, the model of innocence. "Nothing."

Billy's eyes dimmed at her. "I know what you're up to."

"What?" Tommy said, taking both of them by surprise.

"Marcy doesn't like Sarah's boyfriend, so she's setting her up with Rocky," Billy replied.

"I am not," Marcy said. "I am being nice to your friends because I like them. If your friends like my friends that's not my business."

"Just be careful," Billy said.

Marcy leaned over him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I always am," she said. She kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Speaking of which, I need to go."

She gathered up her books and stood up. "I love you."

"I love you too." Billy leaned back in his chair so she could kiss him goodbye, then she walked out of the Youth Center, waiving to Rocky at the payphones as she left.

Billy jumped when the phone rang. He rolled over and looked at the clock next to his bed. Twelve forty-seven. Who would be calling him at this hour?

He picked up the phone quickly and answered. "Hello?"

"Billy?" The voice on the other line was shaking but he recognized it easily.

"Marcy? What's wrong?"

There was a shaky breath, as if she were trying not to cry. "I'm sorry it's so late," she said. "I didn't know who else to call."

"What happened?"

"S-ssarah," she said. "We-we're at the hospital. You were right, I messed up-"

"Are you hurt?" he asked already on his feet, groping at the clothes on the floor in the dark, looking for his jeans.

"No, but-"

"Stay where you are," he said. "I'll be right there."

The hospital lights were bright compared to the night sky at one in the morning. Billy squinted as he walked through the emergency room entrance. The waiting room was off to the side of a large reception desk. The room nearly empty and he saw Marcy pacing in a corner right away.

She spotted him and ran to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't know who else to call."

He held her close for several seconds. "What happened?"

Marcy took a step back, she was visibly shaking and looked like she was going to burst into tears. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy and he knew she'd been crying already.

"Sit down," he said gently leading her to a chair. "Tell me what happened."

She took a deep breath. "I went to the library on campus to research a paper. I decided to just stay and start working on it since I was there. Devon and Ashley are at that leadership retreat and I knew Sarah had a date with Jasper so I didn't see the point in going home. So I stayed until the library closed at midnight.

"And then when I came home I found-" she stopped and held her breath and Billy knew she was trying not to cry. He squeezed her hand gently.

"It's okay," he said. He was pretty sure he knew what had happened after that.

"There was so much blood," Marcy said after a time. "I thought at first she was dead."

"How bad is it?" he asked.

Marcy shook her head. "They're still doing scans and stuff. They said it will be a few hours and she'll probably need surgery. Oh, God Billy, this is my fault!"

The tears rolled down her face and Billy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. "No," he said. "It's not your fault."

"I should have been there."

"It wasn't your fault," Billy whispered. "If Jasper wanted to hurt her he would have found a way whether you were there or not. He's an abuser, that's what he does. This would have happened eventually, no matter what you did."

They continued to sit in the waiting room until Billy could see the first rays of red and orange dawn through the windows. Marcy was laying against his shoulder, her eyes were closed, but he was fairly sure she wasn't asleep. Neither of them had slept much. Someone had come out around three am to tell them that Sarah needed surgery because she had several broken ribs that were damaging her lungs. The police came as well, taking statements from Marcy and wanting more information on Jasper. Marcy told them everything she could think of. They also looked up Sarah's parents in L.A. because Marcy couldn't remember their number.

Billy looked at the clock on the waiting room wall and knew he had a dilemma. It was five twelve and he hadn't slept since before one am. His father would be getting up soon and find the hastily scribbled note he'd left on the kitchen counter. That wouldn't keep him out of trouble, but it would at least delay it until tonight. The second problem was that it was Friday, he would need to go to school. He had no sleep, and no clean clothes, and he didn't relish the thought of leaving Marcy here by herself.

As if she could read his thoughts Marcy suddenly spoke up. "You have to go to school today."

"Yeah," he said. "I could just stay here…"

"No," she said. "You're not skipping class. Go home, get some rest. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

She was sitting up now. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep. She yawned again before speaking. "I'll be fine. As soon as Sarah's out of surgery I'll go home."

"I can stay a while longer," Billy offered. If he went home now there was a good chance he'd have to face his dad before school.

"Go," Marcy said firmly. "Call me when you get out of school."

Billy nodded and she leaned in and hugged him tight. "Thank you for coming out here," she whispered in his ear. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Billy nodded and kissed her forehead before forcing himself to his feet and leaving the hospital.